Pages

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Title:The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)

Author:Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 4 Stars

A little over a month ago, I finished my first Stiefvater novel, The Scorpio Races and ever since, The Raven Boys has, quite unexpectedly really, become one of my most anticipated books of the year. While The Raven Boys most certainly did not disappoint, I found myself to be strangely disappointed. Yet, this, by no means, means that The Raven Boys is a bad book - quite the contrary in fact. It's an atmospheric tale whose crazy story will suck you in, whose characters will become your friends, and whose complex character relationships you can only marvel at. Yet, I couldn't give it the 5 Stars it most probably deserves simply because I've come to expect something more from Maggie Stiefvater. While all the necessary components of an excellent novel were present in this novel, complete with Stiefvater's signature writing style, the pure love and passion that bled through the pages of The Scorpio Races was simply...gone. Thus, while my overall feel for this novel remains to be one of awe, there is most certainly an undercurrent of severe disappointment as something was just...missing.Every year on the night of St. Mark's Eve, Blue and her psychic mother wait in an old graveyard for the spirits of the dead to arrive. Although Blue, devoid of any psychic abilities herself, never sees any spirits, this year, she quite unexpectedly does. Gansey, the boy whose spirit Blue sees, is a raven boy, or a student of an elite private school of, in Blue's opinion, snobs. Yet, the fact that Blue can see him means one of two things - Gansey is either Blue's true love or Blue has killed him. Blue, however, has never been destined for true love - ever since she was young, she has been told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. Gansey, on the other hand, has made it his life's mission to uncover the resting place of the Welsh King, Glendower, for the person who wakes him will be granted any wish. As fate would have it though, their paths do unexpectedly cross and what happens then can only be described as a journey like no other. The Raven Boys is one of those books, much like The Scorpio Races or The Lost Girl was, that you can't anticipate in the least. Although its synopsis seems to revolve around the romantic aspect of this novel, in reality, it is a very small portion of this book and is merely there to add an air of mystery to the plot, taking a well-deserved back seat to the real action in this novel. Actually, The Raven Boys is the story of, well, the raven boys. Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah are the four raven boys we are introduced to in this novel and all four of them, despite their differences, make their way into your heart. More than anything else in this novel, it was their bromance, their continued support of one another, and the directions their friendship took as the story progressed that made this novel as remarkable as it really was. Once again, Stiefvater proves her writing prowess by creating such three-dimensional characters that I still cannot claim to know even one of them completely. In addition to the raven boys themselves though, Blue was a protagonist I immediately fell in love with. She's sensible, she's spunky, she's intelligent, and even though the novel is split equally between her perspectives as well as those of Gansey and even, at times, Adam, her presence as the sole girl amongst the boys was keenly felt and only increased the beauty of this tale and realistic quality of the friendships. Nevertheless, the characters aside, what makes The Raven Boys so compelling is the journey itself. While it does take awhile for the reader to become caught up in the search for Glendower, we can feel the excitement radiating from the characters themselves and cannot help but become thoroughly invested in this unique plot line as well. Stiefvater always does her research and she couldn't have picked a more interested legend to explore - truly, the manner in which this tale unfolds is spectacular. Yet, all that being said, I did feel as if Stiefvater's presence in this novel was strangely missing. I felt her passion, her love, and her writing fervor so vividly through the pages of The Scorpio Races, but that wasn't the case with this novel and as such, I was left feeling strangely bereft. It's a tough emotion to explain and I know that I am probably one of the few readers to experience this, but it definitely did take away from some of my experience with this story. Either than that though, I think what truly put me off from giving this novel 5 Stars was the ending. I never lower the ratings of novels because of cliffhanger endings and that still stands true. The Raven Boys didn't end on a cliffhanger, but it was an extremely confusing ending. I closed this book with a frown on my face, only to re-read the last five chapters, still have a frown on my face, and re-read the last five again, only to continue to be nonplussed. Needless to say, cliffhangers irritate me, but feeling confused at the end of a novel? It just throws me off and leaves me feeling icky and unwell.

Overall though, The Raven Boys is a novel I would heartily recommend. Its plot threads tie together beautifully, its character relationships are complex to an unexplored degree, its lore will grab you in from the beginning, and its plot twists will leave you gaping and frantically flipping back to re-read all those red herrings you missed. Stiefvater's novels really are an experience of their own, with their atmospheric setting and her beautiful writing managing to transport you practically everywhere, so really, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to fall in love with Steifvater's novels as everyone else seems to be. But that might be because I haven't picked this or The Scorpio Races yet. I know an epic fail on my part. I'm hoping that these books will change my current assumptions that I hold. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this as much as The Scorpio Races. And the confusing ending has me intrigued, I normally can't deal with cliffhanger endings either, so don't really know how I'd feel about a confusing ending. Thank you for another insightful review Keertana, it's definitely given me the extra encouragement to give Stiefvater's books another try! :)

Yayy! I loved The Scorpio Races SO MUCH, Jasprit, so I can't recommend it enough. I think if you start out with this one and then proceed onto The Scorpio Races, you'll enjoy this one more, so I hope you become a Stiefvater fan too! :D

Like you, I adored The Scorpio Races more than I can say, and like you, I thought something was missing from The Raven Boys, and it wasn't something one can easily put into words. Stiefvater magic, I suppose. :)But yes, it was still extraordinary compared to others, it's only when compared to her own works that it loses some of its shine.

Blue was such a spectacular heroine, someone I can easily relate to, and while it took some time with Gansey, he really turned out to be fantastic as well. I can't believe we have to wait a year!

I'm glad it wasn't just me who felt the loss, Maja. I was starting to think I was crazy! ;) Still, it was a fantastic novel and I loooved Blue and Gansey. I'm so upset we have to wait a year too! :( I hope this time at least I can snag an ARC! *fingers crossed*

I'm getting Raven Boys soon, and I super excited. It seems like a lot of people don't think it lives up to Scorpio Races, so I'm just going to go into it with that lowered expectation and hopefully I won't be disappointed!

I totally get what you are saying when comparing The Raven Boys w/ The Scorpio Races. The writing is still trademark Maggie, but TRB definitely doesn't read the same, much less poetic and lyrical in my opinion. But a compelling read, nonetheless. I origanlly rated it 4.5 stars but after writing my review and looking back over parts of the book I had to bump it to 5 stars. What I discovered in the process is that I really want to read it again, and soon. Knowing the twists and the ending, I'd like to go back over it and look for things that I missed. I already did that a bit while pulling excerpts for my review.

And I truly LOVED the ending. I'm not one for cliffie's but I was so astounded by the end revelation, I totally did not see it coming, that it that sort of MADE the book for me.

I enjoyed your review, Keertana! It's cool to read your thoughts on this one, especially since we are both giant Scorpio Races fans:)

Heather, first of all, thank you for your lovely e-mail. I'm so glad we got a chance to talk about this one and our discussion definitely made me want to bump up my rating...a little! ;) I still think The Scorpio Races is Maggie's best work, but at the same time, it's tough to compare them because of how different they are. Both are written beautifully though and I really want to re-read this one as well. I think I'll discover so much more with it the next time I pick it up, so hopefully that will be soon! :D

You know I love this book and you know I love your review! I completely agree about the four boys. They worked their way into my heart so quickly and I still can't stop thinking about them. The relationship between the boys was probably my favourite part of the book now that I think about it.

Thanks Sam! I have to agree - I still can't stop thinking about these characters. I loved them and their complex relationships made this story stand out from practically everything else out there. Stiefvater truly is phenomenal. :)

I'm going to have to second Jasprit's opinion: unfortunately, I though both Shiver and Lament were only okay books and thus never felt an inclination to read Scorpio Races and Raven Boys. Who knows though, maybe I'll like her later works more than her old. I'm conflicted, gah! To read, or not to read...

Okay, in spite of my misgivings, I'm really glad you are a fan of this author, Keertana, and hope the rest of her books work for you too! Stunning review. :)

I felt slightly underwhelmed and most definitely confused by this book but the more I thought about it, the more I enjoyed it? I mean, I liked The Scorpio Races well enough but I wasn't in love with it like everyone so didn't have TOO high expectations for this one. I can see what you mean about the lack of passion though, sometimes it did feel disconnected. However, I'm glad you overall enjoyed this one! I can't wait for the next.

"Once again, Stiefvater proves her writing prowess by creating such three-dimensional characters that I still cannot claim to know even one of them completely."

EXACTLY!!! I couldn't have said it better Keertana, the characters were the highlight of this story for me, they just blew me away. I'm with you on the ending though, I got to the last page and went "Um, what?" It was a very strange ending, and I'm still confused about certain things with Adam, but I have faith that more will be explained in the next book:)

So do I, Jenny! I think the sequel will be even better than this one and I can't WAIT to finally read it! I loved this story though and the characters were just so phenomenal - I can't wait to re-read this one! :D

Oh thank you so much for doing this with your comments! I am so so sorry for being such a pain in the ass....I have been stopping by and reading your reviews and can't comment so frustrating. I felt the same way when I read this, Maggie's essence her magic was strangely missing. I absolutely adore her writing it leaves me breathless and this one just didn't have that "it" I enjoyed it but wasn't blown away, it didn't help that I was listening to her Forever on audiobook . Do yourself a favor and get the Mercy Falls Audiobooks if you can. You won't be disappointed they are literary masterpieces!

I'm so glad you can finally comment now, Heidi! I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been, so sorry for the issues you've been having! :(

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found something lacking with this book, but your recommendation of the MF Trilogy has me intrigued. I've heard so many mixed reviews of the trilogy, so I think I'll just have to check them out and see myself! :)

I've only ever read Shiver and then just stopped because I wasn't too into it. From this review, it seems like I should try this and then more to Scorpio lest I be unimpressed. Or maybe not, I have no clue. I will say, though, that this book sounds exciting to me because I love boy-centric YA (ever since The Outsiders, Catcher in the Rye, and Lord of the Flies!) and this sounds sort of like it might hit my male boarding school sweet spot. Have you read A Separate Peace?

I definitely think you should read The Scorpio Races, Flannery, no matter what. It's simply fantastic and I love it SO much, so I really do think you'll adore it. I love boy-centric YA too, but I haven't read A Separate Peace. I'll have to check it out for sure now, so thank you for the recommendation, dear! :)

Oh, I SO know what you mean about expecting MORE from Maggie. She's an extraordinarily gifted writer, and if it didn't *quite* measure up here, I understand the dissapointment. Nevertheless, it sounds like a WONDERFUL book, and I'm very excited to read :)

I definitely see where reading this very closely after The Scorpio Races would affect the reading! I read SR about a year ago so I've been able to separate the two books more.

I like what you said about Blue. I loved her as well. AND the "bromance" between the guys. I can't wait to see more of that.

When reading a piece of a series, especially one written as a cycle, I try to think of it differently from a standalone. Not in that I expect less of it, but that sometimes the full magic of a story can't be seen until its individual parts are all put together.

I'm sad to hear that this one didn't excel to match the level of The Scorpio Races for you, honestly, the fear of that is part of what has kept me from reading this one myself yet. I love that, like The Scorpio Races, it's something you can't anticipate. I read tons of reviews for TSR before reading it, and still found myself completely surprised--I'm hoping for that here! Not sure how I feel about your being so nonplussed by the ending, though. I still can't decide if I should read this or wait till the next one's out.

Brilliant review. I'm so sorry to hear about the ending. I hate those ones that always leave you feeling confused and annoyed. I read a novel a few years ago and the ending frustrated me to no end for several days because I just couldn't understand why the author did it.

However, this novel sounds much better than Shiver. So Maggie will get another chance with me for a different series.

Romance not being the central focus also sounds good because I think it overtakes Shiver.

The Raven Boys does sound like a really good novel despite you feeling Maggie's presence lacked.

Heidi, I think you'll adore this one! While I still think TSR will remain our favorites, I'm excited to see what you think of this one. It's fantastic, so you definitely need to pick this one up, perhaps closer to the release date of the sequel though.